Vote ‘Yes’ For Wawasee
October 22, 2020 at 6:35 p.m.
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In reviewing the 2020 Wawasee School Board minutes, the first mention of the tax referendum was May 12, 2020. At that time, Dr. Edington requested permission to investigate a tax referendum. Then in the July 14, 2020, school board meeting they voted to hire the Indianapolis consulting firm, Winston Terrell Group. Their website stated they have worked with more than 60 school districts with a 90% success rate of getting tax referendums passed. Six days later, the board met and voted to put the referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Why did the board take just two months to decide they needed a tax increase? This additional funding need did not happen overnight. Taxpayers need to have an explanation of the budget shortfalls and dollar amounts attached to the specific programs they wanted to maintain or enhance. Millions will be collected in this eight-year tax referendum. The school board minutes and newspaper articles have not mentioned an estimated dollar amount that will be raised by this referendum. That's a vital piece of missing information. The taxpayers deserve to know this before they vote.
The school board's initial tax increase request was 14.5 cents per 100 dollars on the assessed valuation. The board also anticipated the state might cut their funding 10-30% so they asked for an additional 14 cents, making the referendum grand total of 28.5 cents per $100. However, the state funding was not cut. So why are we not asking for 14.5 cents per $100? The school board stated in a 10/20/2020 Times-Union article, "This board has maintained the lowest school tax rate in the state 3 out of the last 5 years." However, the comparison didn't mention that our property assessment values are probably higher than many counties in our state due to our lake properties. Therefore, tax dollars raised would be higher in our county.
We all agree that our children are the future of this country. We want them to be prepared with a solid education. And if additional money is needed, so be it. However, tax payers deserve transparency and the ability to collaborate with the Wawasee School Administration versus being handed a mandate.
Marilyn Cassell
Leesburg
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In reviewing the 2020 Wawasee School Board minutes, the first mention of the tax referendum was May 12, 2020. At that time, Dr. Edington requested permission to investigate a tax referendum. Then in the July 14, 2020, school board meeting they voted to hire the Indianapolis consulting firm, Winston Terrell Group. Their website stated they have worked with more than 60 school districts with a 90% success rate of getting tax referendums passed. Six days later, the board met and voted to put the referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Why did the board take just two months to decide they needed a tax increase? This additional funding need did not happen overnight. Taxpayers need to have an explanation of the budget shortfalls and dollar amounts attached to the specific programs they wanted to maintain or enhance. Millions will be collected in this eight-year tax referendum. The school board minutes and newspaper articles have not mentioned an estimated dollar amount that will be raised by this referendum. That's a vital piece of missing information. The taxpayers deserve to know this before they vote.
The school board's initial tax increase request was 14.5 cents per 100 dollars on the assessed valuation. The board also anticipated the state might cut their funding 10-30% so they asked for an additional 14 cents, making the referendum grand total of 28.5 cents per $100. However, the state funding was not cut. So why are we not asking for 14.5 cents per $100? The school board stated in a 10/20/2020 Times-Union article, "This board has maintained the lowest school tax rate in the state 3 out of the last 5 years." However, the comparison didn't mention that our property assessment values are probably higher than many counties in our state due to our lake properties. Therefore, tax dollars raised would be higher in our county.
We all agree that our children are the future of this country. We want them to be prepared with a solid education. And if additional money is needed, so be it. However, tax payers deserve transparency and the ability to collaborate with the Wawasee School Administration versus being handed a mandate.
Marilyn Cassell
Leesburg
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